Woodbury hires new employee for animal shelter

At the December 21 Woodbury Town Board meeting, a new employee — Gavin Mayer, a Monroe-Woodbury graduate — was hired to work at the Woodbury Animal Shelter. Councilwoman Kathryn Luciani stated, “You have a great history of working with animals, so it’s going to be something really wonderful for our animal shelter. We’re excited to have you onboard.” She then motioned to approve Mayer for the role which was then approved unanimously.

The decisions the Town of Woodbury makes concerning the animal shelter may be of great importance to the public in light of recent events. In January 2019, the town of Monroe entered into an agreement with the town of Woodbury to manage animal control in both towns. However, when a dog gets loose, depending on which town you live in, you’re supposed to call your respective police department, either the village of Monroe or the town of Woodbury. You are also supposed to pay for a license for your dog through the respective towns in which you live. In the event your dog makes a break for it, as dogs are want to do, they’re collected and brought to the shelter in Woodbury. In most cases, the story ends here. The shelter keeps their lines open, and either the police or the owners can get in touch with them to retrieve the beloved pet. They also make posts alerting people on Facebook that follow the shelter about lost pets in the area. (Although, it needs to be stressed that the algorithms that determine what you see in your Facebook feed are constantly changing, which means it’s entirely possible you will never see these posts.)

Representatives of the Woodbury Animal Shelter told The Photo News that the shelter is a no kill shelter, and that they do not euthanize any animal that they receive. In most cases, when a dog is collected overnight, they are kept at the shelter where phone lines remain open throughout the evening and early morning, providing an opportunity for those looking for their pets to make contact. Sometimes, if an animal is found to be incredibly sick, they are taken to VCA Flannery Animal Hospital in New Windsor. It’s there that, if a vet finds serious injury or illness with the animal, the decision could be made for the animal to be euthanized. Representatives of the Woodbury Animal Shelter also told The Photo News that they were horrified over the situation that happened this fall involving McGruff, a 16-year-old dog that was taken into the shelter and put to sleep, despite the owners actively looking for the dog.

As The Photo News described at the time, “Dogs with Cushing’s disease can appear weak, with hair loss, and thinning skin. They may have an enlarged abdomen and act lethargic, thirsty.” According to the Woodbury Animal Shelter, their version of events involved a colleague finding a dog that appeared ill, which is in line with McGruff having Cushing’s disease. The vet that examined McGruff at Flannery determined that McGruff was “riddled in cancer.” Not having an ID, nor a collar, and having not heard from the village police, the decision was made by the veterinarian at Flannery to put down McGruff, which was signed off by animal control. The veterinarian claimed that the dog’s inability to stand was the reason for the decision.

Representatives of the Woodbury Animal Shelter urged the community to make sure they get a license for their dogs. It costs less than $20 for a spay/neutered dog, and slightly more if the dog is not spayed. The shelter also stressed getting all your pets, cats included, microchipped. This allows for them to be readily identified in an emergency.